SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Brandeis University volleyball team split a pair of matches on Day 2 of the Skidmore Invitational, seeing their four-match winning streak snapped in a 3-0 loss to Cortland State, but rallying to defeat Williams, 3-0.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis, 5-2.
- Cortland State, 3-2.
- Williams, 0-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED, WILLIAMS (3-0, Set scores: 25-16, 25-23, 25-17)
- Brandeis bounced back after suffering just their second loss of the season.
- The Judges' offense clicked from the start, as they hit .289 for the match (39 K-11 E-97 TA), including .310 in the first set (17 K-4 E-42 TA).
- Brandeis showed a balanced attack in the first set, with six different players registering at least two kills. Senior outside hitter Lara Verstovsek (Houston, Texas/Episcopal) led the way with four as Brandeis took it, 25-16.
- The second set featured seven ties and six lead changes. The Ephs had a chance to even the match after tying things up at 23-all, but a service error and an attack error gave Brandeis the two-point win.
- It marked the seventh-straight match in which the Judges have had a set decided by the minimum two points and the 11th set overall. 42 percent of Brandeis's 26 sets have been decided by two points.
- The Judges did not allow the third set to be so close, opening up a 4-1 lead that they never relinquished. They led by as many as 10 points at 19-9 before clinching it, 25-17, on a service ace by sophomore Olivia Nirode (Keller, Texas/Keller). Junior Anna Ertischek (Montgomery, Texas/Montgomery) had five kills in the final stanza.
- For the match, Verstovsek tied for match-high honors with 10 kills, a match after being held to single digits for the first time this season. Five other Judges had between five and seven kills.
- Senior Alina Nowakowski (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) led the net defense with a career-high four blocks (one solo) to go with her six kills.
- The rookie setting tandem of Alex Ho (Queens, N.Y./Frances Lewis) and Samantha Lin (Menlo Park, Calif./Menlo-Atherton) finished with 17 and 15 assists each.
- First-year libero Isabella Irizarry (Guaynabo, P.R./Cupeyville School) led a balanced defense with eight digs, with Verstovsek and Ho each collecting seven.
HOW IT HAPPENED, CORTLAND STATE (0-3, Set scores: 29-27, 25-19, 25-9)
- In the opener, the Judges and Red Dragons played Brandeis's longest set of the year in the first.
- Brandeis rallied from a 10-2 deficit to eventually tie things up at 12 on a kill by Verstovsek.
- The Judges extended their run and went ahead, 18-14, on a kill by first-year Madison Haft-Abromovich (Stratford, Conn./Rye Country Day School).
- It was Cortland's turn to come back at this point, with the Red Dragons evening the score at 20-all.
- The squads traded the next six points, with the Red Dragons earning the first set point at 24-23.
- Each team would have two more set points, with Brandeis's last coming at 27-26 after an Ertischek kill.
- The Red Dragons won the final three points, including kills by Alexa Guedez and Jennifer Koestner to take the 29-27 win.
- The second set was tight in the early going, tied at 11-all. Cortland responded with a 7-2 run to take a 19-13 lead.
- Brandeis didn't go quietly, with a 6-1 run of their own to close within 20-19, but the Red Dragons finished by scoring the last five points to take it, 25-19.
- The Judges' offense struggled in the third set, with just four kills and 12 attack errors in 38 attempts as Cortland closed it out with a 25-9 win. It was the Judges' lowest-scoring set of the season.
- Verstovsek was Brandeis's top all-around player, with nine kills, two service aces and one block – all tops or tied for first on the team. She also had 12 digs, second-most on the squad.
- Irizarry had a team-high 16 digs and matched Verstovsek with two aces. Lin had 12 assists and Ho had 11.
